Frantz Poyo, member of the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, estimated that financial punishments imposed by the United States and Canada on political and economic elite that allegedly finances local gangs did not stop the gangs’ operations.

Poyo called for strong judicial action and told Radio Métropole that over 100 wealthy families supply weapons and ammunition to the armed groups.

One of Jovenel Moïse’s prime ministers transferred more than $20,000 to a gang leader for his birthday, Poyo said.

So far, kidnapping and murder reports have increased considerably, while gang clashes forced displacement of thousands of people last week from different areas such as Bel Air, Solino or Nazon.

The National Network for the Defense of Human Rights said that hostilities caused at least 60 deaths and hundreds of wounded, according to a preliminary balance.

Plus, the armed gangs break into homes to kidnap and attack residents not only in vulnerable neighborhoods but also in more affluent areas such as Petion Ville.

UN, on the other hand, criticized in a recent report that illegal weapons arriving in Haiti from the United States increase violence in the Caribbean country.

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